Attachment for supplying auxiliary air to a carburetor



Jan. 31, 1967 c. M. ANTONSEN 3,301,539

. f ATTACHMENT FOR SUPPLYING AUXILIARY AIR TO A CARBURETOR Filed March 12, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGS INVENTOR. CYRUS ANTQNSEN ATTORNEYS Jan. 31, 1967 c. M. ANTONSEN 3,301,539

ATTACHMENT FOR SUPPLYING AUXILIARY AIR TO A CARBURETQR v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 12, 1964 INVENTOR. CYRUS ANTONSEN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,301,539 ATTACHMENT FOR SUPPLYING AUXILIARY AIR TO A CARBURETOR Cyrus M. Antonsen, 5539 N. 4th St., Minneapolis, Minn. 55421 Filed Mar. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 351,460 4 Claims. (Cl. 261-47) This invention relates generally to carburetors for internal combustion engines, and pertains more particularly to a carburetor attachment for saving fuel under certain operating conditions.

As is generally known, a carburetor meters, atomizes, and also mixes the liquid fuel with the air flowing to the internal combustion engine. A relatively rich fuel-to-air mixture is required for idling and also during the periods that the throttle valve is open only a small amount. However, maximum economy is desired in the mixture at intermediate speeds or loads where the vehicle is usually operated, and frequently a maximum power mixture is also desired at wide-open throttle. It is well understood that maximum economy is obtained with lean mixtures which permit maximum utilization of the fuel; on the other hand, maximum power is obtained with rich mixtures. relatively lean mixture is normally desired at intermediate speeds and loads, and that a relatively rich mixture is required during idling and low speeds, although under certain conditions a rich mixture is also advantageous for the higher speeds.

Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to conserve fuel through an efficient utilization thereof at the particular throttle openings when such an economy can be realized without sacrifice in performance. More specifically, it is an aim of the invention to provide an auxiliary attachment for carburetors which will close off or block the entrance of supplemental air at idling and low speeds, yet which -will supply a controlled amount of additional air at intermediate speeds or loads. It is also within the purview of the invention to continue to supply the auxiliary air under heavy load conditions or if the user wishes the attachment can be employed for progressively reducing the supply of supplemental air as the throttle opens beyond a midway position. Consequently, it will be discerned that a carburetor attachment constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention possesses a considerable amount of versatility and utility.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carburetor attachment of the foregoing character that even when the valve portion thereof becomes worn after prolonged use will not upset or adversely affect the idling of the engine. In this regard, it is planned that the attachment be located between the Venturi cluster and the throttle valve.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a carburetor attachment that will enhance the mixing action,

thereby further contributing to an economical operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide .an attachment for carburetors that will permit the deriving of maximum power when circumstances dictate, such as in an emergency when it is necessary to depress the accelerator pedal of an automobile quite rapidly in order to avoid an accident when passing another car.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an attachment that assists in producing a carburetion that is so complete that the mixture going into the internal combustion engine will burn quite clean and thereby minimize the chance of producing objectionable amounts of carbon deposits.

These andother objects and advantages of my inven- Hence, as a general rule, it can be said that a ice tion will more fully appear from the following description, made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a conventional carburetor equipped with my improved attachment;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken in the direction of line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 for the purpose of showing to better advantage the valving arrangement employed when practicing my invention;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken in the direction of line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG- URE 3 but with the throttle valve depicted in an approximately half open position and showing my auxiliary but with the throttle valve f-ully opened and my auxiliary attachment shown in a second blocking position in which no auxiliary air is being admitted;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective detail of the rotatable valve plug utilized in the attachment forming the subject matter of my invention;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken in the direction of line 77 of FIGURE 6 for the purpose of showing the portion of the valve that performs the blocking or closing function, and

FIGURE 8 is a view corresponding generally to FIG- URE l but illustrating a different embodiment that the invention can assume, this embodiment resulting in the attachment providing a full amount of auxiliary air once the throttle valve has reached its halfway position.

Referring now to the embodiment of FIGURE 1, it Will be perceived that a conventional carburetor has been denoted in its entirety by the reference numeral 10, being comprised of casing or body sections 12, 14 and 16. When oriented in the direction shown in FIGURE 1, the main air enters at 18 which is at the top of the carburetor 10. There is a conventional choke valve mechanism 20 associated with the upper body section 12 but this plays no part in the present invention and need not be further described.

supported within the intermediated section 14 by a spider or yoke 28. Since the role played by the fuel jet 24 and the Venturi 26 are quite well known, these elements are shown only in phantom outline and without the normally provided float chamber.

The bottom body section which has been labelled 16 houses the throttle valve 30 which is mounted for rocking movement on a shaft 32, being actuated by a throttle lever or actuating arm 34. The lever 34 is in turn connected to a connector rod 36 associated with the linkage leading to the accelerator .pedal of the vehicle. As is usual, the throttle lever 34 is formed with an idle arm 38 which threaded'ly carries an idle speed screw 40 engageable with a fixer stop 42. The mixed fuel and airleaves the carburetor 10 at 44 and then enters the intake manifold of an I internal combustion engine (not shown),

My auxiliary attachment for carburetors has been denoted generally by the reference numer'al46. The attachment 46 includes a plate 48 having an auxiliary air inlet at 50 which leads directly into a primary air passage 52 which divides into two branch passages 54. As best 3 seen in FIGURE 2, the plate 48 is formed with a circular aperture 56 which is subjacent the mixing chamber located in the intermediate section 14 of the carburetor and which is superjacent the throttle valve 30.

The plate 48 of my invention is formed with a transverse bore 58. Rotatably disposed in the bore 58 is a valve plug 60 that is generally cylindrical so as to render the valve plug 60 readily rotatable. The central portion of the valve plug 60 is of a segmental configuration for blocking the primary or single passage 52. The segmental portion of the valve plug 60 has been indicated by the reference numeral 62 and from FIGURE 7 it can be seen that this blocking portion 62 is formed with an arcuate surface 64 that does the actual blocking when moved into juxtaposition with the passage 52. The segmental configuration imparted to the central portion 62 forms an open or unblocked region 66 which permits the air to pass through the passage 52 into the branch passages 54 and thence into the aperture 56 where the air becomes mixed with the fuel and air mixed 'by the jet 24 and its associated Venturi 26.

It will be observed that the rotatable valve plug 60 is provided with an integral lever 68. It is this lever or arm 68 that is pivotally connected to one end of a link or rod 70, the link or rod 70 being pivotally connected at its other end to the throttle lever 34. To effect this connection, the link or rod 70 has offset or out-turned ends 72, 74 which can be readily seen in FIGURE 2. Whereas the integral lever 68 prevents the axial movement of the valve plug 60 in one direction within the transverse bore 58, a washer 76 and a cotter pin 78 prevent the movement of the valve plug 60 in an opposite direction. Consequently, the valve plug 60 is held captive within the bore 58 by the lever 68 at one end and the cotter pin 78 at the other end.

It is important to note that my attachment 46 is installed above the throttle valve 30 when the carburetor 10 is oriented as shown. Stated somewhat differently, the attachment 46 is between the fuel jet 24 and the throttle valve 30. Consequently, the attach-ment 46 in no way affects the idling of the engine. This is true even after the valve plug 60 becomes worn after extensive use which would allow air leakage. Thus, the carburetor 10 operates substantially the same with the attachment 46 included therein as it does without such an attachment other than the fact that the mixing action is improved by reason of the presence of my attachment 46.

Having presentedthe foregoing information the manner in which the carburetor 10 and my attachment 46 ope-rate together should be readily understandable. The carburetor 10, as shown in FIGURES 13, has throttle valve 30 in an idling position. Hence, a relatively rich mixture is desired at this time and such a mixture would normally be supplied by the carburetors conventional idling jet and its associated air intake (not shown). Segmental portion 62 is closing the passage 52 under these conditions, as illustrated in FIGURE 3, so that it may begin to open to admit auxiliary air in response to initial opening movement of throttle valve 30. When the accelerator is depressed to approximately half throttle, the amount of auxiliary air should be at its maximum. Hence, attention is directed to FIGURE 4 where the throttle valve 30 is shown in substantially its midway position but the segmental portion 62 of the valve plug 60 is disposed so as to allow air to pass completely through the passage 52 into the aperture 56. It might be explained that the integral lever 68 forming a part of the valve plug 60' is shown in approximately the four oclock position in FIGURE 1. This lever 68 would move to the six oclock position in rotating the segment 62 to the position in which it appears in FIGURE 4.

With the embodiment currently being described, it is intended that the valve plug 60 once again begin to close the passage 52 after the throttle valve 30 has passed its v 4 midway position. Consequently, FIGURE 5 has been presented in which the throttle valve 30 is fully open and the segment 62 is shown at the other side of the transverse bore 58 where it is once again blocking the passage 52. Of course, it will be understood that in between these several positions there is first a gradual opening of the passage 52 until the maximum opening position is reached, this being the position depicted in FIGURE 4, and. from this point on the passage 52 is gradually closed by further rotation of the valve plug 60.

It will be appreciated that the rotatable valve plug 60 is moved in accordance with the movement of the throttle valve 30. Hence, the requisite amount of auxiliary air is blended into the mixed fuel and air moving downwardly through the carburetor 10. By so doing, an economical mixture fed to the internal combustion en gine is formed and a considerable saving of fuel can be effected when using my attachment 46.

It is recognized that under some circumstances there should be 'no closing of the passage 52 after the position of the segment 62 is reached which position is depicted in FIGURE 4. In other words, if a greater fuel economy is desired from half throttle on to full throttle, then one would not Wish to have the position of FIG- URE 5 reached. It is for this reason that the embodiment shown in FIGURE 8 has been pictured. For the sake of distinguishing from the earlier embodiment, the attachment in this instance has been generally denoted by the reference numeral 80. The valve plug 60, however, remains unchanged and actually only a minor amount of modification is needed in order to convert the attachment labelled 46 to the attachment labelled 80.

Referring to the simple changes that are necessary, it can be pointed out that a pin 82 is connected to the integral lever 68 rather than the offset end 72. Similarly, a pin 84 is carried by the throttle lever 34 in lieu of the offset end 74. Through the agency of the pins 82, 84 a coil spring 86 can be connected thereto in a spanning relationship. The coil spring 86 corresponds in function to the link or rod 70 described herein earlier. The only criterion set up for the coil spring 86 is that it have an appropriate spring constant so that it does not compress too readily. In other words, when the idle arm 38 on the throttle lever 34 is moved in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 8, then the spring 86 should act against the integral lever 68 so as to rotate the valve plug 60.

However, when the segment 62 reaches the six oclock position shown in FIGURE 4, it is not to rotate any farther under this particular scheme. In other words, the amount of auxiliary air entering the attachment is not to be reduced after the throttle valve 30 has reached its halfway point. Instead, the passage 52 is intended to remain open even though the throttle valve 30 moves onwardly to its fully opened position.

To prevent further rotation of the valve plug 60, a limit or stop screw 88 is threadedly carried in a.downwardly projecting lug 90 welded or otherwise secured to the underside of the plate 48. It is after the integral lever 68 reaches its six oclock position that further movement is precluded and the coil spring 86 is merely compressed when the throttle lever 34 is rotated farther beyond the position in which the throttle valve 30 is half open. However, as the throttle valve 30 is moved back toward its closed position, the coil spring 86 expands until sufli-cient movement has occurred so as to pull the integral lever 68 back to the position in which it is shown in FIGURE 8.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangements and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination:

(a) a carburetor including an air induction passage having a fuel jet and an axially displaced throttle valve therein,

(b) a plate interposed between said fuel jet and throttle valve having a passage extending inwardly from the atmosphere to the mixing chamber within said carburetor;

(-c) a rotatable valve plug having a portion thereof movable between blocking and unblocking positions to close said passage or to open said passage, and

(d) linkage means interconnecting said throttle valve with said valve plug for moving said plug portion into its said blocking position when said throttle valve is substantially closed and into its said unblocking position when said throttle valve is substantially half open.

2. In combination:

(a) a carburetor including an air induction passage having a fuel jet and an axially displaced throttle valve therein;

(b) a plate interposed between said fuel jet and throttle valve having a passage extending inwardly from the atmosphere to the mixing chamber within said carburetor;

(c) a rotatable v-alve plug having a portion thereof movable between blocking and unblocking positions to close said passage or to open said passage, said valve portion having a segmental cross section formed with an arcuate surface subtending a sufii- -cient angle to block said passage when moved into either of two extreme angular positions; and

(d) linkage means interconnecting said throttle valve with said valve plug for moving said valve portion into its said blocking position when said throttle valve is substantially closed and into its said unblocking position when said throttle valve is substantially half open.

3. The combination of claim 2 in which:

(a) said throttle valve has an actuating lever;

(b) said rotatable valve also has an actuating lever,

and

(c) said linkage means includes a connecting rod having its opposite ends pivotally connected to said actuating levers for first moving said rotatable valve plug from one blocking position through a wide open position to a second blocking position when said valve portion is moved between said two extreme angular positions as said throttle valve is progressively opened.

4. The combination of claim 2 in which:

(a) said throttle valve has an actuating lever;

(b) said rotatable valve also has an actuating lever;

(c) said linkage means includes a coil spring having its opposite ends connected to said actuating levers for first moving said rotatable valve plug from one blocking position to a wide open position, and

(d) stop means against which the actuating lever of said rotatable valve plug abuts to limit further rotation of said valve plug beyond a wide open position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,607,830 11/1926 Kessel 26l47 X 2,033,247 3/1936 Koehly 26l47 X 2,061,166 11/ 1936 Mueller 123-419 2,074,471 3/1937 Holley et al.

2,680,604 6/1954 Perez 26l47 2,751,202 6/1956 Benvenuti 26l47 3,147,320 9/1964 Tubb 26 150 3,174,469 3/ 1965 Rappolt.

FOREIGN PATENTS 162,843 5/ 1921 Great Britain.

HARRY B. THORNTON, Primary Examiner.

T. R. MILES, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION: (A) A CARBURETOR INCLUDING AN AIR INDUCTION PASSAGE HAVING A FUEL JET AND AN AXIALLY DISPLACED THROTTLE VALVE THEREIN, (B) A PLATE INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID FUEL JET AND THROTTLE VALVE HAVING A PASSAGE EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM THE ATMOSPHERE TO THE MIXING CHAMBER WITHIN SAID CARBURETOR; (C) A ROTATABLE VALVE PLUG HAVING A PORTION THEREOF MOVABLE BETWEEN BLOCKING AND UNBLOCKING POSITIONS TO CLOSE SAID PASSAGE OR TO OPEN SAID PASSAGE, AND (D) LINKAGE MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID THROTTLE VALVE WITH SAID VALVE PLUG FOR MOVING SAID PLUG PORTION INTO ITS SAID BLOCKING POSITION WHEN SAID THROTTLE VALVE IS SUBSTANTIALLY CLOSED AND INTO ITS SAID UNBLOCKING POSITION WHEN SAID THROTTLE VALVE IS SUBSTANTIALLY HALF OPEN. 